ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Overcoming a second-round jinx that dated back to over a decade, the Bristol High School softball team roared into the PIAA Class A state semifinals Friday with a 5-0 victory over South Williamsport.

Bristol (19-4) returns to action Monday in the state semifinal against Minersville at a site and time yet to be determined. The state final will be played on Friday in State College.

On a day in which veteran coach Mike Lalli recorded his 499th career win, the keys to Bristol’s latest victory were simple: South Williamsport had no luck hitting senior Mary Wallick, who finished with a dominating two-hitter and eight strikeouts.

Bristol also all but assured it would not suffer the latest in a long line of second-round losses by putting four runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning,

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“This is an absolutely speechless moment right now,” said Wallick, who is closing in on breaking the school record for career hits. “I’ve been here the last four years and getting past the second round means everything.

“I wouldn’t want to do this with any other group of girls.”

The Bristol bottom of the first started with a single by Tianna Brewington, who then stole second base. After a sac by Maya Alicea, Wallick drove in the first run with a single to right field.

This led to run-scoring singles by Olivia D’Emedio and Jade Stevens, who reached on a hit between first and second. Rose Scalzo then delivered the biggest blow with an RBI double to left for the game’s only extra-base hit.

Bristol later added a run in the fourth without the aid of a base hit when Brewington got a runner home with a sac fly.

While all of this was going on, Wallick kept putting up zeroes on the scoreboard to raise her record to 18-4 and up her strikeout total on the year to 182.

South Williamsport’s best chance came when it put runners on second and third with two outs in the fourth, but Wallick struck out Alanna Herrera to end the threat. Alicea also made a nice running catch to help preserve the shutout in the seventh.

South Williamsport’s Anna Steer (two strikeouts) gave up only two hits over the next five innings, but way too much damage had already been done.

In a bit of an oddity, Bristol finally got past the second round in a year in which for the first time in ages it did not win the Bicentennial Athletic League. The Warriors, however, obviously have much bigger goals in mind.

“Not winning the BAL hurt us this year, but that wasn’t stopping us in districts and states,” said Wallick. “We have worked our butts off, and worked even harder to get where we are.”

Where Bristol is two wins away from the second state title in school history. The first came in 1990 with Beth Angelaccio in the circle.

NOTES: Wallick’s career hit total is now 134. The school record of 135 is held by Kelly Brandt.